Thanks for reading and the comment. Wow, that last sentence was pretty harsh. I don't feel that way in the slightest. I love my parents and think they did the best job they possibly could in raising me. They weren't perfect and they are the first to admit that. I don't mourn a person that isn't part of my life (bio-mother) because that doesn't make sense to me. I don't feel like a pet and never have. I feel awful for those for whom that is their experience.

Also, I don't think my brother has any sort of Stockholm Syndrome. He just doesn't give a crap about being adopted and it's not a part of his identity that he claims. Nothing wrong with that.

I wrote the piece more to talk about how adoptees love to claim openness, but really use gatekeeper language to silence those whose opinions they don't like.